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October 4, 2008

Jewish Astronaut’s Diary Will Be Shown

by Sam Savage

Pages of a diary kept by an Israeli astronaut killed in the Columbia space shuttle disaster are going on display at a museum in Jerusalem, Israeli media report.

The Israel Museum Sunday will begin exhibiting some of the 37 pages from Ilan Ramon's diary, recovered by searchers two months after the spacecraft disintegrated upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere Feb. 1, 2003, the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported.

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration returned the diary pages to Ramon's wife Rona, who had Israeli forensic experts restore them.

The restored pages include the Kiddush prayer, transcribed by Ramon so he could read it at the start of Shabbat, the news agency reported.

Ramon, the first Israeli to fly in space, was among seven astronauts who died in the accident.